2021 iPad Pro M1 Laptop Replacement

That forced the question of whether the iPad Pro could “replace” your laptop altogether. For many people, it did.

I still love my 2018 11-inch iPad Pro, and I use it every day. At various times, it has been my primary device for, well, everything I do on a daily basis. Then, Apple pretty much forgot about the iPad Pro. Sure, it got a small update in 2020, but it didn’t change anything about the way most people use the iPad Pro. In fact, by the time Apple announced the 2021 version in April, the iPad Pro was more in need of an update than anything besides maybe the iMac.

2021 iPad Pro

Now it’s here, and the headline feature of the 2021 iPad Pro is that Apple put the M1 processor inside–the same chip it already rolled out in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac. As a result, the question of whether it can replace your Mac has never been more relevant. Except, I think it’s the wrong question. Here’s what I mean:

I started out thinking that this might finally be the device that lets you ditch the laptop. It makes sense–surely the fact that Apple finally put a desktop-class processor inside the iPad Pro means that it can replace your computer, right?

The thing is, after using one for a week, I think that question misses the point. What is more clear to me than ever is that the iPad Pro isn’t a thing you buy to replace a laptop. It’s something entirely different–and in many ways, better.

If you’ve read a review of any of Apple’s M1 Macs, you know everything you need to know about how powerful and fast the 2021 iPad Pro really is. In addition to the M1, the 12.9-inch model I reviewed had a 1 TB SSD and 16 GB of unified memory. The short version–it’s ridiculously fast and powerful.

More important, it’s quick. That might seem like semantics, but I think it makes a difference in the experience of using an iPad Pro.

The new version is quicker than ever at doing things like launching apps, using multiple apps side by side, dealing with email, or zooming in on photos. I’d even go so far as to say it feels more responsive than any device I’ve used.

Launching an app doesn’t require an intense amount of power, but it is something you do a hundred times a day. In terms of the overall experience of using a device, that might matter even more than how powerful it actually is for doing things like editing a podcast or exporting photos and videos.

That said, it’s plenty powerful for doing those tasks as fast as an M1-powered Mac. The iPad Pro has more than enough power to do whatever you might want to do with it.

It’s also worth mentioning the mini LED display on the 12.9-inch model. Apple calls it Liquid Retina XDR, and it’s only on the bigger model. In short, it’s really good.

Apple crammed 10,000 tiny LEDs, grouped into 2,500 local dimming zones, which means that the display is capable of 1,000 nits of maximum full-screen brightness. That’s plenty bright enough for use outside on a sunny day.

It also peaks at 1,600 nits when you’re watching HDR content. In addition to being bright, each of those 2,500 dimming zones can turn on or off, meaning that if you’re watching a movie, the blacks will be deep and the contrast will be rich.

Certainly, if you’re editing HDR footage, that matters, but if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t say that the display itself is enough of a reason to buy the 12.9-inch version. It’s really good, but it’s really good in ways that won’t matter enough to most people if they prefer the smaller size of the 11-inch model.

That leads us to what I think is the most important question–which isn’t, by the way, whether it can replace your laptop. The real question is: What do you want to do with it?

That isn’t an existential question. If the thing you do on a daily basis is fill in spreadsheets, don’t get an iPad Pro–get a MacBook Air or a Mac Mini. Desktop computers are great for that, and even if you need something to fill in your spreadsheets on the go, there are a lot of really lightweight and portable laptops.

If the thing you do on a daily basis is sitting at a desk and editing photos, get one of the brand-new 24-inch iMacs. The display is gorgeous, and it has more than enough power you need to manage your RAW image processing workflow.

The iPad Pro doesn’t need to be a thing to replace your laptop. That doesn’t mean it isn’t capable. It absolutely is. It’s not only the most powerful tablet ever made, it’s the most powerful computer you can buy right now. But so are all of the other computers Apple has introduced in the past 12 months.

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By the way, unlike some of my fellow tech journalists, I don’t think Apple will put macOS on the iPad Pro, at least not anytime soon. That’s because Apple doesn’t think of the iPad as something that should try to do what a Mac does.

Yes, I know iPadOS has limitations when you compare it with the macOS. It lacks window management. Its multitasking abilities leave a lot to be desired. You can’t use an external display as a second monitor.

All of those things, however, assume that you should use the iPad to do the things you do on a Mac, and I don’t think Apple sees it that way at all. The iPad Pro is something different, and you use it to do different things.

The iPad is ideal for situations where you wouldn’t take a laptop, and couldn’t use a desktop. For example, setting an iPad on a piano to transcribe music notation. Using augmented reality to view product designs and prototypes in real-world spaces. Editing a podcast using the Apple Pencil.

Think about it this way: Apple is moving away from making you decide which device to get based on things like memory or processing power. That means you can stop worrying about whether the device you’re considering will be powerful enough for whatever you do–it will. The M1, and whatever comes after, is more than powerful enough. That’s true of the MacBook Air, the new 24-inch iMac, and now the iPad Pro.